In an image display device using liquid crystals, light from a light source is recognized as an image as the light passes through a liquid crystal layer, a color filter, a polarizing plate, etc. In this case, the outermost surface of the image display device is the polarizing plate when the image display device is used as a personal computer monitor or as a liquid crystal television. In order to suppress surface reflection, an anti-glaring membrane having small-size irregularities or an anti-reflecting membrane is formed over a surface of the polarizing plate. The polarizing plate is a thin film made of tri-acetyl cellulose. This film has a pencil hardness of about 2 to 3H.
Taking into the consideration the fact that, in the case of a liquid crystal display used in a cellular phone, the liquid crystal display continuously come into contact with a garment in a state of being put into a pocket of the garment, a transparent resin plate made of acrylic resin or the like is provided on the polarizing plate, so that the liquid crystal display has an image display surface prevented from coming into direct contact with clothes, etc.
As mentioned above, the polarizing plate, which becomes the outermost surface of the image display device when the image display device is used as a personal computer monitor or as a liquid crystal television, is constituted by a thin film made of tri-acetyl cellulose while having a pencil hardness of about 2 to 3H. However, this film must have reduced wear resistance in order to form irregularities on the surface thereof in accordance with an anti-glaring process. For this reason, when the surface of the film is wiped using a duster or the like at home, in order to remove contaminants on the film surface, scratches are formed on the film surface if foreign matter of high hardness such as sand or soil has been attached to the duster. That is, where the outermost surface is provided by the polarizing plate, there is a problem of low wear resistance.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that an object may be struck against the surface of the personal computer monitor or liquid crystal television, even when the personal computer monitor or liquid crystal television is disposed indoors. In addition, when a bowl, vase, or toy is struck against a glass plate arranged beneath the polarizing plate, the glass plate may be broken if the impact generated due to the striking is excessive. This is because the glass plate has a thickness of about 0.5 to 0.7 mm, even though the thickness depends on the product. In this connection, both personal computer monitor and liquid crystal televisions have a tendency of an increased screen size. However, when the product has an increased screen size while maintaining the thickness of the glass plate, it may be easily broken even by very small impact because of a reduction in impact resistance.
In the case of a cellular phone, the transparent resin plate of the outermost surface thereof has a thickness of about 2 mm and is planar. Accordingly, even in a state in which the cellular phone is put into a pocket of a jacket, scratches causing a degradation in visibility are difficult to be formed on the outermost surface. In this case, however, since a gap is present between the transparent resin plate and the polarizing plate, strong reflection of ambient objects to the image display surface occurs due to light reflection at the opposite surfaces of the transparent resin plate. For this reason, there is a problem of a degradation in visibility at a bright place.
In addition, two glass sheets, which are used to seal liquid crystals therebetween in the manufacture of a liquid crystal panel, have a small thickness of 0.5 to 0.7 mm. For this reason, the glass sheets may be broken when they are held using a force higher than a required force during transportation or wiring procedures in each manufacturing process. Therefore, precision is required in the holding operation carried out during the manufacture of the liquid crystal panel.